


Close your eyes (Dream of me)

by IzzyMRDB, WardofWinters (QoLife)



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bodyswap, Canon Era, Child Annabeth, Child Percy, Child!Annabeth, Child!Percy, F/M, Fluff, POV Alternating, Pagan!Annabeth, Pagan!Percy, Pre-Canon Era, Pre-Slash, Romantic Soulmates, Sally Jackson is a Good Parent, Soulmate Shenanigans, They love each other, cuteness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:14:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25419778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IzzyMRDB/pseuds/IzzyMRDB, https://archiveofourown.org/users/QoLife/pseuds/WardofWinters
Summary: Soulmates are a wondrous rare thing. To be a soulmate is to switch with your match. Percy opened his eyes to a room full of spiders. Annabeth opened her eyes to a man with a beer bottle standing over her. "Just know it breaks my heart, when soulmates are so far apart." They now have their lives ahead of them, to carve their names amongst the stars. (Updates Friday/Saturday)
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 91
Kudos: 277
Collections: Oh My God They Were Soulmates





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> This is Dragon and Izzy here, bringing you this delightful 
> 
> Hi! I'm Dragon, you can find me on tumblr: percabeth4l1fe or ward-of-winter (which is also my everything else) :)
> 
> Hi! I'm Izzy, I am happy to discuss my ideas and plot with you, and I cherish every review and like you give! Find me at 'IzzyMRDB' on all social media (Tumblr, Insta, Snap, Discord) and start a conversation!
> 
> It's obviously a soulmate au, percabeth.
> 
> Come yell at Dragon on tumblr: @Percabeth4Life  
> Come yell at Izzy on tumblr: @IzzyMRDB  
> Come chat with Dragon on discord: https://discord.gg/6Pf8JgJ  
> Come chat with Izzy on discord: https://discord.gg/8mGyafN  
> I hope you enjoy the story!

Soulmates, a rare occurrence. They appear once every few hundred years. 

Soulmates are determined by the Fates themselves. And the Fates rarely bless humanity with soulmates.

Soulmates have many names; the dual-bodied, body-switchers, kindred souls, companions, two halves of a whole, mirrored body.

There are many great examples of soulmates throughout history:

You have heard of many, Achilles and Patroclus, who lost each other mid-switch, Patroclus doomed to end his days as Achilles. Guinevere and Lancelot, whose love brought great tragedy, no matter how much they tried to stay together. Cleopatra and Mark Antony who loved in the face of adversity, yet fell prey to the madness of the switch. Dante and Beatrice, who loved each other despite their separation, and continued to linger in love after death. Liang and Zhu, the butterfly lovers who came together in death, eternally together despite their separation in life. Niulang and Zhinu, immortalized in the heavens in their love as Altair and Vega. Theodora and Justinian, whose great minds rose and fell an empire, their combined wisdom being their own downfall.

Yes you will find many examples of soulmates throughout history, though few admitted to their status.

There are many who grew jealous of the soulmates, killing them when they found them, making them hide their own existence. Many soul-pairs were killed before they could even meet; many did not make it out of childhood.

Even the gods held jealousy for them, for gods cannot have a soulmate, they do not have souls as we do. You will see the history of the gods separating the soulmates out of spite and jealousy, the butterfly lovers one striking example.

But should the soulmates meet, they became a pair of unmatched strength.

There is a reason why we still sing of Achilles’ rage, of Cleopatra’s empire, of Lancelot’s prowess, of Dante’s stories, of Justinian’s conquering, of Niulang’s stars. 

Soulmates are the perfect pair, the fates made it so. If they are one soul in two bodies, or two souls meant to be together, it cannot be said. Perhaps neither, perhaps both.

The important thing about soulmates is not who they are apart, but what they become together. And that is incredible.

See for yourself, as this story goes on; Learn the story of the grandest of soulmates, the children of the gods. 

Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase.

Read how they defied the Fates themselves, and wrote their names amongst the stars.


	2. One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy view

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, Dragon here! Chapters are starting short but they'll get much longer once the story gets going.
> 
> Percy's POV is first, sweetheart.
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter!
> 
> Come yell at Dragon on tumblr: @Percabeth4Life  
> Come yell at Izzy on tumblr: @IzzyMRDB  
> Come chat with Dragon on discord: https://discord.gg/6Pf8JgJ  
> Come chat with Izzy on discord: https://discord.gg/8mGyafN

I leapt back to avoid Gabe’s hit, and tumbled off a bed.

I blinked slowly, the room was dark and there were weird scuttling noises (they’re spiders, they sound like them and those eyes look like them) and it’s not my room.

For one there’s a fully stocked bookshelf that is not in my room, and it’s bigger, and cleaner than my room. And well, there are more toys and soft blankets.

Not that that stops the lots and lots of spiders scuttling around me.

I screamed when one crawled up my arm. No, no, no, no, get off.

I heard stomping feet and suddenly the spiders scurried away.

“Annabeth?” I sat on the floor as the door opened, a man with [elephant] hair came in, looking tired. “Why’d you scream?” He blinked down at me on the floor. “Why are you on the floor?”

“Um… spiders?” Who’s he?

The exhaustion on his face made me flinch back.

“Annabeth, how many times do we have to tell you not to lie about the spiders?”

I stared up at him in confusion. Lie about spiders? And who’s Annabeth? Who’s this guy? What’s going on?

“Back in bed,” He said firmly. 

I was ushered back into the bed, completely baffled. I have no idea what’s going on. Where am I?

He tucked me in, kissed my forehead, and headed back out.

I sat in the bed till he left, and the spiders came back out.

Okay, I can handle this. Just until I figure out what’s going on. 

Another spider tried to crawl up my arm and this time I squished it, shoving a strand of blonde hair back as I did.

…

…

Wait!? I don’t have blonde hair!

I tugged my hair, it’s longer, and blonde, and… why is it long and blonde?

I scrambled out of bed and turned on the lights, trying to avoid stepping on any spiders that get in my way (none of them <i> _look </i> _ poisonous, but it’s hard to see them clearly in the dark.)

I found a mirror and stared.

That’s not what I look like.

Yet it was.

Staring back at me was a **girl** , five like me (I think at least), with pale blonde hair and sharp grey eyes.

I distractedly brushed the spiders away, wincing as one bit me. These things suck.

Okay, this is officially weird as heck. 

I touched my hair, her hair? The girl in the mirror mimicked me. 

So, I’m suddenly a girl? What is going on!?

I angrily glared at the spiders still trying to climb over me, “Leave me alone!” I snapped.

They actually scuttled back. Moving around each other, but not quite climbing over me. I rubbed at the bites I already have, they hurt. 

I looked back at the mirror. Okay, so this is bad. Or not? Is it bad? I mean, I was just about to get hit by Gabe, but now I’m surrounded by spiders. So I’m not sure which is worse. I’m also a girl for some reason…

What do I do?

I slowly moved back to the bed, trying to think. 

I don’t know where mom is, I don’t know where I am, I don’t know _who_ I am, and I don’t know why there are so many spiders! I mean, I guess the person I am now is named Annabeth… 

So… plan? I need to… figure out where I am… and then find my mom? Yeah. That seems like a good start.

I nodded determinedly, climbing into the bed. Some spiders tried to climb back up to me. 

Okay, bonus plan, figure out how to deal with spiders. I’ll ask mom when I find her.

I curled up in the bed, determined to think, but I’m so tired, and I feel like I haven’t slept in weeks. 

My eyes slowly closed the spiders starting to swarm me again.

Maybe this Annabeth I am now hasn’t been able to sleep because of the spiders?

I’ll definitely… definitely figure out… how to kill them… in the morning… 

I slept.

**OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO**

I screamed, falling backwards to avoid the spiders, and then I was on the floor of somewhere that isn’t my bedroom.

A large, smelly man was standing over me, screaming as he waved a beer bottle in my direction.

“How dare you spill my beer, brat!” He shouted, and I ducked a blow from the strange man.

“I didn’t do anything!” I tried to defend myself.

“Stop lying!” He shouted, and I jumped when he smashed the bottle in his hand on the wall behind me.

“I’m not!” I screamed back, tears welling up.

Who is this man? Why is he screaming at me? Where’s my dad? This isn’t my room, where did all the spiders go? Is this a dream?

“Shut up!” The man snarled, clapping a large hand on my back. “You’re staying in your room until Sally gets home. No food.”

I yelped as he picked me up by my shoulder, dragging me down a dirty corridor and practically throwing me into a foreign room.

I flinched when he slammed the door shut, shaking the frame with his force.

My mind was racing. Have I been kidnapped? Where am I?

I scrambled towards the window, hoping that it’s unlocked so I could escape, but I froze half-way there when I spotted my reflection in a mirror.

In the mirror, a different person was staring back at me. A **boy** was staring back at me.

_What?_

My arm moved up to push through the stranger’s black hair, and the reflection copied it. I waved an arm, and the boy copied. I hopped and closed my eyes tight, the boy’s reflection copied.

Oh no. This isn't good. This very much is not good. I’m not in my body!

Who’s body am I in? Where am I? How am I even in a different body? Is it like one of the stories in my books? I’ve got to- I’ve got to make a plan.

 _Who_ am I?

I looked around the room, searching for any sign of the identity of the body I’m in.

The walls, a soft blue, were mostly blank with a few photographs on the walls. Mostly of a brown haired woman and the boy whose body I’m in, but a few of a beach. The desk was cluttered with crayon drawings.

I pulled a drawing closer to me and squinted at the name written on the corner.

It read ‘Pryce Jkacnos’ but after a few more minutes of trying to read it, I realised it actually read ‘Percy Jackson.’

Right. Okay. I’m in the body of Percy Jackson.

But _who_ is Percy? How am I supposed to be him? Did I need to have a new family?

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I curled up in the ocean-themed bed, wrapping the blankets around me tight.

I want my dad. I don’t want to have a new family. I want to go home!

I have to figure out where I am and find my dad and go home and not get hit by the mean man outside…

I have to make a plan.

I wiped the tears from my eyes, sniffling slightly.

I’m not stupid, dad says I’m very smart, that means I can figure everything out and make a plan!

I nodded determinedly, focused on my task. I can do this!

…

I can do this in the morning.

I was tired beforehand anyways, the spiders keeping me awake.

There’s no spiders here, and ‘Percy’ seems safe now that the mean man is gone…

I lay down slowly on the bed.

I can… deal with this… in the morning.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a review! They feed my soul.
> 
> What do you think of the switch? What happened to Annabeth? Is Percy alright?


	3. Merge I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Together yet apart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! It's Dragon and Izzy! We're here with the next part :)
> 
> Hope you enjoy it! 
> 
> Come yell at Dragon on tumblr: @Percabeth4Life  
> Come yell at Izzy on tumblr: @IzzyMRDB  
> Come chat with Dragon on discord: https://discord.gg/6Pf8JgJ  
> Come chat with Izzy on discord: https://discord.gg/8mGyafN

I groaned as I stirred, sitting up in my bed. 

Everything is just like it was yesterday morning; clothes on the chair, bookbag by the door, shoes scattered, sunlight coming in weakly through the curtain covered window.

Hang on a second.

I stared baffled for a long moment.

I’m home!

I scrambled out of bed, knocking over a pillow and promptly slipping on it. I scrambled back to my feet and hurried to the bathroom.

Looking in the mirror, I saw myself.

Just me, no random girl’s  ~~ Annabeth’s ~~ body. My black hair, my pale skin, my green eyes. It’s just me.

I rubbed my arm where a ring of bruises had formed, Gabe.

I hope mom is okay.

…

Mom!

  
  
  


-

  
  


I blinked slowly, rubbing my eyes to get rid of the crusty remains of sleep.

My room was just like I left it; lego on the floor, books on the bookshelf, sunlight streaming in through the slightly open window.

...Wait.

I blinked once more in confusion.

I’m back home!

I shot up, clambering out of bed so quickly I nearly got tangled up in my blankets and knocked over my forgotten lego Pantheon.

There, in the mirror, was me.

Normal me, no foreign boy’s ~~Percy’s~~ body. My blonde hair, my tanned skin, my grey eyes. Me.

I let out a hiss of pain when I saw the spider bites scattered across my body. Tears sprang to my eyes, will my dad even believe me when I tell him about them?

…

My dad!

-

I bolted out of the bathroom, nearly tripping over some of Gabe's boots.

“Mom! Mom!” I called, nearly running into a wall.

I darted through the door to the kitchen, ignoring Gabe, as my mom finished setting out breakfast.

“Mom!”

She smiled down at me, holding out a hand to help steady me.

“Good morning Percy, what has got you so excited?”

I beamed, wrapping her in a quick tight hug before beaming up at her.

“I switched bodies!”

  
  
  


-

I ran down the stairs, skipping steps in my rush.

“Dad! Dad!” I called, jumping the last step. 

I rounded a corner to barrel full speed into my dad as he left the dining room.

“Dad!”

He frowned down at me, grabbing me by my shoulders to steady me.

“What is it Annabeth? You’ll wake the neighbors with all your shouting at this rate.”

I gave him a quick hug and grinned up at him ecstatic.

“I switched bodies!”

-

“I switched bodies and I was a girl named Annabeth”

“What?” My mom looked at me with a slight frown “What do you mean?”

I hopped from one foot to the other in excitement, “I woke up in this other girl’s body! Her name is Annabeth, I’m not sure about her last name, and she’s got blonde hair and grey eyes and lives in a nice house!”

I frowned, “But I’m not sure where it is.”

-

“I switched bodies and I was this boy named Percy!”

“What?” My dad shared a concerned look with his wife. “What are you going on about?”

I waved my hands around in excitement, “I woke up in this other boy’s body! His name is Percy Jackson, that’s what he wrote on his drawings, and he’s got black hair and green eyes and he lives in another city!”

I frowned, “Or maybe another country? I know he speaks English, and there wasn’t any accent, so it’s here in America, right?”

-

“That’s very interesting Percy, are you sure it wasn’t a dream?”

Gabe scoffed, “Please, the brat is lying. Just an attention hound.”

I scowled, he always says that! He never believes me about anything, but mom does!

“It wasn’t a dream! It really happened, I switched bodies last night!” I snapped.

Gabe sneered at me.

“Please, people don’t switch bodies. Stop trying to take all your mom’s attention.”

-

“That’s an interesting dream, Annie, but you don’t have to yell about it to everyone.”

I wanted to scream in frustration. He doesn’t believe me! He never believes me.

“It wasn’t a dream! This really happened, I switched bodies last night!” I told him.

He just frowned down at me. My step-mom put a hand on his shoulder and knelt down to be eye-level with me.

“Annabeth, stop lying for attention. You had a weird dream, that’s it.”

-

I glared at him, shaking in anger.

“I’m not lying!” I snapped, “I was really someone else! I was Annabeth but now I’m Percy!”

My mom’s face held some sort of realization while Gabe’s turned into an ugly snear.”

“Stop lying you insufferable brat! And don’t you dare yell at me.” He stalked forward and grabbed my arm tightly, right on the bruises. “If all you can do is throw a tantrum and take up your mom’s time then you can go to your room where you aren’t a nuisance. Go on brat!”

Why does he always hurt me?

-

My face turned red in anger, and I stomped my foot.

“I’m not lying!” I yelled in protest, “I was really in another body! I was Percy Jackson but now I’m not!”

My dad’s face turned into one of resignation while my step-mother grew annoyed.

“Stop lying, and don’t you dare yell at me!” She snapped, grabbing me tightly by my arm. “If you’re going to throw a tantrum, you get to do it in your room. Go!”

I screamed at her for not believing me, my dad for not interfering, my mom for not being here.

Why do they never believe me?

-

I pulled the blankets over my head, hugging the pillow tightly as I glared at the wall.

I switched bodies, had to deal with spiders attacking me, and Gabe hurting me while I guess this Annabeth was in my body.

“Honey,” mom called, coming in.

“Mom!” I called.

“Why don’t you tell me what happened with this body swap?”

I beamed, she believes me!

“I woke up as Annabeth! I don’t know her last name but she was getting attacked by spiders and then I guess her dad came in and told me to not lie when I said there were spiders and they all left before he showed up and then I looked in the mirror and I had blonde hair and grey eyes and was a girl and I hit some spiders and I don’t know where I was but I was gonna try to find you in the morning but then I was asleep and when I woke up I was in my room!”

I took a deep breath.

“Okay honey, so you were someone else?”

“Yeah!”

She nodded slowly, “I think I know what this is, but I’m not sure yet. Let’s be extra careful about it and test it first to be sure.”

I tilted my head, “How are we gonna do that?”

“Well, maybe we can make a picture of her, and leave a message. That way if you swap and she ends up as you she’ll know that you know about the swaps, then she can leave a message as well.”

“So if we do swap again? Will you tell me what happened?”

Mom nodded, “Of course, I just want to be sure that this is what I think before I say anything.”

“Okay!” I threw myself into her arms in a hug. “I’m gonna make the best drawing of her! You’ll see! It’ll be super great!”

I scrambled for my crayons and started drawing her, blonde hair (I only have a bright yellow) and grey eyes, I even mixed in some black to make them stormy like hers!

I signed it at the bottom and Mom helped me leave a message, “ _ Hi Annabeth! I’m Percy. Are you also swapping bodies? :)” _

-

I pulled the blankets over my head, punching my pillow in anger.

I switched bodies, got attacked by spiders, got  _ bit _ by spiders, and dad doesn’t believe me!

Even more importantly, I have to figure out what is happening.

Why did I switch bodies? Who is Percy Jackson? Where is he? Did he wake in my body too? How did this happen? What if it happens again? What if I get stuck in his body?

So many thoughts swirled anxiously in my head, frightening me with their possibilities.

No. I’ve got to stay strong and figure this out.

Cautiously, I slid out of bed, keeping an eye out for any lingering spiders. 

I grabbed some paper and crayons that were on my desk and began to scribble down ideas for what to do if this happens again and what even happened. My drawings were not the best, but it’s easier than writing and my dad and step-mom won’t be able to understand it.

It took me a while, but eventually I had a pretty accurate drawing of what I remembered Percy Jackson to look like; Black hair, Green eyes, pale skin, skinny and short. 

I pinned it up on my wall, front and center.

There, now if we ever switch again, he’ll know that I’ve been in his body too!

Hopefully, he’ll have some answers, but until then I have to try and find out what happened by myself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Don't forget to leave a review, they feed our souls :)
> 
> What did you think of them waking up? What do you think Sally knows? Do you think they're utterly adorable?


	4. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy's view

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, Izzy here!  
> Dragon wrote the first half of this, and I the second half!  
> Hope you guys enjoy it <3
> 
> Come yell at Dragon on tumblr: @Percabeth4Life  
> Come yell at Izzy on tumblr: @IzzyMRDB  
> Come chat with Dragon on discord: https://discord.gg/6Pf8JgJ  
> Come chat with Izzy on discord: https://discord.gg/8mGyafN

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, it’s gonna be fine, I can do this, school isn’t that bad.

I opened my eyes ready to go into the old rundown building and stopped. I was not here just a second ago.

I looked around confused, it’s a much nicer school, really clean and pretty. And lots of kids were moving around, and they were all wearing uniforms.

Hang on.

I grabbed my hair, which was suddenly longer, around shoulder length.

It was blonde.

We switched again!

So I guess this is Annabeth’s school? Looks fancy.

“Ready to go in, Annabeth?”

I looked up at the figure above me, her dad I think. The same guy that came in when the spiders were attacking and told me not to lie.

I don’t think I like him.

I should probably not say that we switched though, what if he doesn’t know? He didn’t believe me about the spiders, what would he say to me saying I’m not Annabeth?

“Annabeth?”

I quickly smiled up at him, “Yep! I’m all set.”

“Okay, come on then.”

He led me in, holding my (Annabeth’s) hand as we walked into the building.

I made note of the room that he led me to, it has a bee on the door! The other doors had other animals, a monkey and a cat.

I was told to find my seat and I hurried to find “Annabeth” on the desk labels.

It took a minute of going around the desks to find the right one, I’m only able to read some words, but mom showed me how to write Annabeth the other day when I did the picture and left the message for her.

I beamed when I found her seat (it has butterflies around her name), and sat down with her bag beside me.

There were two others at the grouping of desks, I smiled at them both.

“Hi! I’m Per- er, Annabeth!”

“I’m Susan, I like your hair.”

“Oh thanks,” I said.

“Ew, why would I talk to you? You’re a girl, everyone knows girls have cooties.”

The boy on the other side of me sneered at me, scooting his chair to be as far away from both of us as possible.

I couldn’t help but be insulted, maybe some girls have cooties, but Annabeth definitely doesn’t. I would know, I am her right now.

“Yeah, well at least I don’t pick my nose!” I glared at him doing just that.

He flushed, “Yeah well at least I don’t have dumb yellow hair!”

“It’s blonde! And at least mine isn’t stupid red!”

“It’s better than yours!”

“Is not.”

“Is too.”

“Is not.”

“Is too.”

“Is no-”

“Children! Do not start a fight on the first day.”

I glared at the still unknown boy, I don’t like him, he’s mean to me, Annabeth, Annabeth me.

“Hmmph.” I turned away with a huff.

I faced the teacher as she began to speak.

“Welcome to your first day of school! I’m Ms Brown and I’m going to be your teacher for this year!” She gave us all a big smile, “I’m so excited to have you all in my class!”

She seemed nice. I wonder how Annabeth is enjoying my school?

When I turned back to Ms Brown, she had finished talking and everyone was scrambling up from their seats.

Uh oh. I missed something. What do I do?

I hastily stood up with everyone else, wildly looking around to try and figure out what I’m supposed to be doing.

Ms Brown pointed at each kid standing behind the table, they said their name and something they liked, then everyone said “Hello!” and they sat back down.

Right, we’re doing introductions.

Ms Brown pointed at Susan, “I’m Susan and I like horses.”

“Hello Susan!” I chirped with the rest of the class.

It was my turn, “I’m Annabeth and I uh…”

Oh no, I don’t know what Annabeth likes! Think, what did she have in her room?

Ms Brown went to open her mouth to prompt me along, but I quickly blurted out, “I like legos!”

She nodded and gave me a small smile.

“Hello Annabeth!” The class greeted me, and I was quick to sit back down.

**oOo**

Ms Brown got us to sing the alphabet with her, which was nice if it wasn’t for the fact that I kept getting distracted.

I was currently sitting at the table, coloring a picture of a bumblebee blue.

“Annabeth,” Ms Brown knelt down next to my seat. “Don’t you want to learn the alphabet with us?”

I glanced between my drawing and the other kids singing.

“But I already know the alphabet,” I told her. “Why would I learn something I already know? I like coloring in though, and I can sing along to it while I color!” I tried to argue.

Ms Brown pursed her lips, “We sing along together because that’s how we learn here. You can sit next to your friends if you want to.”

“How will everyone singing together help us learn?” I asked, confused.

“Annabeth,” she sighed. “I understand that this is new to you, but you have to follow the instructions like everyone else.”

She didn’t answer my question.

“Fine,” I sulked, pushing my drawing away and slinking towards where the other kids were sitting on the mat.

The stupid nose-picker, Daniel, snickered at me for getting told off by the teacher. I stuck my tongue out at him.

**oOo**

Lunchtime was something new.

Annabeth had a lot of healthy snacks in her lunchbox: baby carrots, yogurt, sandwiches and a juicebox.

Susan elbowed me, “I’ll swap my celery for your carrots.” She offered.

I don’t particularly prefer one over the other, so I agreed.

Susan talked a lot, everything from horses to her favorite color was brought up, but I talked just as much. We agreed that mermaids were the coolest, that horses are awesome, and that pink is a much better color than red (but I disagreed when she said that pink is the best color- blue is!)

**oOo**

During playtime, as we waited for our parents to pick us up, Susan and I began building things with the classroom’s lego set.

The blocks were bigger than the ones that Annabeth had at home and clunkier too. I tried to copy the cool building she made, but I couldn’t get them right and they looked really lopsided.

I went to add a little lego man to the top of the legos, but someone snatched my building.

Daniel waved it at me, a mean smile on his face. “What’s this?”

“My building,” I tried to snatch it back but he moved it away from me. “Give it back!”

“No,” he frowned. “It’s my turn with the legos.”

“I wasn’t done!” I shouted at him, stomping my feet. “Give it back!”

He laughed, then in a very cruel move, broke my lego building up. “Oops.”

Susan gasped behind me, running to go get the teacher, but I just stared at my lego broken up on the ground.

Tears gathered up in my eyes, “You’re stupid!” I yelled at him, “You’re a stupid head!”

“Annabeth!” Ms Brown’s stern voice snapped at me. “We don’t call people names.”

“But-!” I whirled on her, “He snatched my legos and broke them!”

“And you called him names,” she retorted. “Apologize to Daniel.”

“Not until he says sorry first!” I balled up my fists, more tears leaking out of my eyes.

“Daniel snatched her things first, Ms!” Susan tried to back me up, but Ms Brown didn’t like that.

“Just because someone hurts you doesn’t mean that you can hurt them back.” She frowned down at us, “Daniel just wanted his turn with the legos, you were with them for an awful long time.”

I gaped at her. Why was she taking Daniel’s side? He’s a bully!

The man from before- Annabeth’s dad?- knocked on the classroom door.

“Excuse me,” he began, frowning at the scene before him. “But why are you telling my daughter off?”

A bell rang.

When I opened my eyes again, mom was kneeling in front of me outside _my_ school building.

“-Do you understand, Annabeth?” She said.

I blinked.

“Mom!” I shouted, throwing my arms around her. “I swapped bodies with Annabeth again!”

**OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO**

I bit my lip as I eyed the clean building in front of me.

I took a deep breath, I closed my eyes and hoped that school would be just as nice as Dad said it would be.

When I opened my eyes, my school was gone and a smaller, rundown building was in its place.

Huh?

Looking around, I saw a few kids walking into the building, talking loudly in groups, wearing jeans and t-shirts.

I brought my hand up to my eyes, and saw the paler skin tone and shorter nails.

This isn’t my body. I must be Percy again.

“I’ll be here to pick you up after work, okay Percy?” A brown-haired woman kneeled down next to me.

I nodded, confused. Who is she? Is she Percy’s mom?

Should I tell her that I’m not Percy? My dad didn’t believe me, would she?

“I love you baby,” she pressed a kiss to my forehead. She stood back up and grabbed my hand, “Come on, let’s find your classroom.”

I let her lead me into the rundown building.

I wonder what Percy is doing in my body? What’s going to happen when we switch back, I don’t know what he did at my school, what if he makes friends for me?

Percy’s mom left me in a classroom with a caterpillar on the door, then went to talk to the teacher.

I went to sit down with all the other kids on the mat.

“What’s your name?” A boy with dark tones and curly hair asked me, “I’m Jaiden.”

“I’m An- Percy,” I tripped, nearly giving him the wrong name. 

“Cool,” he said. “Wanna be my friend?”

I blinked, should I be making friends for Percy?

“Um.”

He frowned, “Do you wanna become mortal enemies? That works too, like Batman and the Joker!”

“I think I’ll prefer being friends!” I hurried to correct the situation. I think making enemies with Percy’s classmates is worse than making friends.

“Awesome! High-five!” He held up his hand, and I obliged him.

Boys are _so_ weird.

“Students! Eyes on me!”

I turned to the teacher, she was standing in front of a whiteboard at the front of the class.

“Today’s your first day, and I know you are very excited, but if we could all settle down!” She instructed. I side-eyed a girl who was sniffling and wiping away tears, wanting her mommy back. “My name is Miss Kayla, you can call me Miss K, and I’ll be your teacher this year. If you could all sit in a circle for me, we can get started!”

Some thirty students scrambled to situate themselves into a circle, and I joined them. I ended up sitting between Jaiden and the crying girl from before.

“We’ll be going around in the circle and saying our names and a fun fact about ourselves, okay? I’ll start: My name is Miss K and I like ice-cream! Now, your turn sweetie.” She began, then turned to the boy sitting next to her on the mat. 

Oh no, what’s a fun fact about Percy? I don’t know anything about him! What did he have in his room? Think, Annabeth, think!

Jaiden elbowed me.

“It’s your turn, what’s your name?” The teacher was facing me, the whole class was staring at me, waiting for my answer.

“Oh, um, my name is Percy and a fun fact about me is… um… I like the ocean!” I blurted, finally remembering something about him.

“Thank you dearie, now moving on,” she turned to Jaiden and he answered her without a pause, telling the class about how much he loves superheroes.

One problem dodged.

***o***

Percy’s class was really boring.

Miss K got us to sing the alphabet with her and count up to thirty, which was easy enough, but the other kids were loud and not being on task, so I got annoyed with them pretty quickly.

Two more of my- Percy’s- classmates began crying for their parents, and so Miss K gave us all crayons and paper and told us to draw while she takes care of it.

I reached for the blue crayon, determined to finish my drawing of a Greek temple before lunchtime.

“Hey!” A girl who introduced herself as Hayley protested, “I was going to use that!”

I gave her a glare, “I got it first, and there’s other blue crayons in that cup next to you.”

“But I want that one!” She wailed, “Give it to me!”

Stunned, I stared at her. Is she stupid? There’s another blue crayon right beside her, she doesn’t have to take mine.

“I need it for my drawing, if you still want it, you can wait.” I said sternly, turning back to my picture.

“No!” She stomped her foot, “You’re going to ruin it by using it on your ugly drawing!”

Vexed, I yelled back at her. “It’s not ugly! It’s a temple! And it’s much better than your stupid butterfly!”

She screamed, throwing her crayons at me.

Miss K came running back into the room, hearing the screams and taking in the scene. Jaiden didn’t hesitate to snitch on Hayley, “She tried to steal Percy’s crayons and then called his drawing ugly!”

Hayley screamed again, and tried to hit me, yelling, “It’s stupid and ugly! Give me the crayon! Give me!”

“Stop it!” I ducked her flailing arms, “ **Stop it!** ”

I don’t know what happened, but one second I was trying to get her off of me, the next, the entire class was screaming as the sprinklers rained down on us.

Miss K grabbed Hayley, still throwing a tantrum, by the arm and yelled at everyone to get out of the class.

Uh oh, am I in trouble?

***o***

I sat on the bench outside the principal's office, swinging my legs back and forth.

I’m not in trouble, Miss K said that I was in the right, but the principal didn’t agree with her so I’m going home early today. They said my mom is going to pick me up, so I get to find out who she is now

“Percy!” 

I turn to see the same woman from earlier running down the hall, her brown hair streaming behind her as she looks at me with obvious worry.

“Percy, baby, are you okay?” She comes to crouch down next to me and enveloped me in a hug.

I nodded wordlessly. So this is Percy’s mom? Would she realize I’m not her son?

“I’m going to go talk to your teachers, okay? Stay right here.” She told me, then entered the principal’s office.

I could hear them talking, Miss K was defending me but the principal was still angry at me for yelling back at Hayley and was telling Percy’s mom that they won’t tolerate any troublemakers at this school.

Percy’s mom came out of the office and gave me a smile, extending her hand so I can hold it. “Let’s go home, baby.”

I took it and let her lead me out of the school.

She kept talking about how we can have Percy’s favorites when we get to their home, saying something about blue food and candy, and I felt so guilty that I was in Percy’s place and got him in trouble that I couldn’t stop myself from blurting out the truth.

“I’m not Percy!”

She froze in her place, right under the school gates.

“What?”

I sniffled, “I’m not Percy, I’m Annabeth and I’m in his body!”

She relaxed, and a relieved look came across her face. “It’s nice to meet you, Annabeth, I’m Sally Jackson. Do you know where my son is?”

“I- I think he’s at my school right now,” I told her.

She nodded, “Do you know where? Is it in America?”

“In Alexandria, Virginia. I’m supposed to be at Mary’s Elementary School, but I switched bodies with Percy before school started.” I wiped at my eyes, and Mrs Jackson leaned down to brush away my tears.

“As long as he’s safe,” she muttered with a smile. “Do you know what’s happening?”

“No,” I shook my head frantically. “Where am I?”

She knelt down to be eye-level with me, “You’re in New York City, in Harlem. This is Parker’s Elementary, Percy’s new school.”

There's sadness in her eyes as she continued, “And you are switching bodies with my son. Do you know what Soulmates are? Yes? Well, they’re very rare, but soulmates, since they share souls, don’t just stay in their own bodies. They swap often, especially when in danger or need help from the other- I’d say that’s why you swapped today, you were nervous on your first day of school.”

“Will this happen forever?”

“Yeah, it will. Don’t worry, I’ll help you and Percy, okay? But you have to keep this secret, Annabeth, this is a very dangerous-”

The school bell cut her off.

In a blink, I was back at _my_ school, with it’s uniforms and new buildings and my own body.

As my dad is yelling at the teacher that he saw everything and that I am not in trouble and will not be apologising.

What in the world did Percy do while he was in my body?

...and why is my dad threatening to report her to the principal?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a review, we love to read them!  
> So what do you think of Percy's first day of school? What do you think Annabeth was doing? What do you think Sally told Annabeth? Isn't Percy completely right and Ms Brown wrong?


	5. Merge II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids reflect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Dragon here. I wrote this chapter and Izzy edited. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter! Things will be picking up a bit after this, though canon is still a while away.
> 
> Come yell at Dragon on tumblr: @Percabeth4Life  
> Come yell at Izzy on tumblr: @IzzyMRDB  
> Come chat with Dragon on discord: https://discord.gg/6Pf8JgJ  
> Come chat with Izzy on discord: https://discord.gg/8mGyafN

Mom hugged me, then declared that while Gabe was out (she didn’t say why he was out but he’s out for once) we would have cookie making time and talk about everything that happened today.

I love cookie making time! 

She brought me home, then gathered all the ingredients (flour, chocolate chips, eggs, water, butter, sugar, and of course the blue dye).

We started mixing everything up. 

“So, what happened today Percy?”

And I started talking.

**OO OO OO OO**

Dad drove me home, frowning the whole way.

We arrived home to my step-mother making dinner in the kitchen, the scent of lemon and chicken filling the house.

Dad went with me up to my room and helped me put everything up, my bag by the door, jacket on the hook, shoes in the cubby, and my homework on my desk. 

He sat down on my bed and looked at me seriously. 

“Do you want to tell me what happened today Annabeth?”

**OO OO OO OO**

“-was Annabeth! I went to her school, her teacher is mean, and made a friend, but the other kid was rude, and got to color, but the teacher didn’t let me just color cause she’s mean, and then I made a building out of legos, it wasn’t as good as the one in Annabeth’s room, I wanna build one like her she’s so good at it, and then the mean kid broke it and I called him a name cause he was  _ mean _ , and then the teacher tried to make me apologize and then I was with you again!”

Mom handed me some cookie dough to roll into balls. 

“That sounds like quite the adventure.”

**OO OO OO OO**

I swallowed, I can’t just tell my dad what happened. He didn’t believe me the first time about the switching thing (he doesn’t even believe me about the spiders, why would he believe me about this?), and I don’t know what happened today.

  
I bit my lip, I know something happened at the end that the teacher wanted me to apologize for, but I’m not sure what. All that I know is that this is going to keep happening, Percy’s mom said we’re soulmates, so I guess I need to get used to covering for the switches.

“Well, I uh, had to do introductions. Um, there was a nice kid I sat with.”

“The girl that was with you right?” Dad asked. “Susan I think?”

I nodded quickly, I’ll have to remember that Percy made friends with Susan for me. “Yeah, she was nice.”

What else, what would I probably have done there… “We learned our letters, but I already knew them… um... “

I vaguely remembered the blocks that had been in front of me. “I played with blocks.”

He nodded slowly, “That sounds like a good day.”

**OO OO OO OO**

I grinned as mom let me eat the leftover cookie dough.

“Now then, Annabeth was in your body today. I know a bit of what happened. She made friends with a young boy, Jaiden, and drew a lovely drawing of a temple. She got in a fight with a girl named Hailey over a blue crayon I believe.”

I frowned, I don’t think I like Hailey if she was mean to Annabeth-me.

“The principal wasn’t happy with Annabeth defending herself, er, yourself… Ah, this will be hard to do.”

Yeah, cause she was me but she’s her… We’re… us? We do the things, when we switch it’s us acting? This is hard.

  
“Well, she defended herself, I had to talk with the principal about it. Your teacher was on your- her, side.”

“That’s good.” I offered mom a piece of cookie dough as she set the timer for the cookies.

“It is. But that was your day.” She took the piece and popped it in her mouth.

“Why does this happen mom?” I asked. “It’s strange.”

**OO OO OO OO**

“You’ll have to be more careful to not get into fights, Annabeth. I know that it wasn’t fair for that boy to break your building, but you can’t yell at them for it. That will get you in trouble.”

So that’s what happened. Percy was totally right for yelling at a kid for breaking my building! Er, his building… our building? Whatever, that kid was rude to break it. 

“The teachers want you to apologize, but since he broke your building I’m not going to make you do so. But don’t get into fights like this in the future.”

I nodded quietly. I think Percy-me was totally in the right for fighting that kid, but Dad obviously doesn’t agree. 

“I’ll do better,” I mumbled.

Dad sighed, before patting my head and standing up.

“Make sure you finish your homework, Annabeth.” 

He left my room.

**OO OO OO OO**

“This is… well you see Percy. The reason you switch with Annabeth, it’s because you’re soulmates.”

I stared at her in confusion, “What’s a soulmate?”

She smiled softly, crouching in front of me. 

“A soulmate is your perfect match, someone who fits with you like two puzzle pieces. Your souls are like two halves, complete when together. A soulmate is your pair in everything, they cover your weaknesses and you theirs. It’s a wondrous thing, it means that you’re never alone, you’ll always have each other.”

Wow, that sounds really cool. And Annabeth is my soulmate?

“Soulmates are very rare, Percy. And oftentimes they’re hurt for being so special. Which means you and Annabeth are going to have to be very careful. No one can know that you’re soulmates.”

I nodded, I won’t let Annabeth get hurt. “So we switch cause we’re soulmates?”

“Yes, and you’ll switch any time you’re emotional or in danger. It’s just how soulmates work. You’ll get better at handling it as you get used to it.”

I nodded slowly, “How do I talk to her though? I need to tell her what happened at school! And what if something happens when I’m her? Or she’s me? How will we know?”

Mom pursed her lips, “Well, maybe we can come up with something. How can you keep track of things that happen during the day?”

**OO OO OO OO**

I snuck out of my room and to the computer room. Homework is all well and good, but I need more information on soulmates first.

I have a soulmate, but I don’t know much about them. I guess it’s like having a husband? But like, different?

Dad doesn’t call his wife his soulmate, and he doesn’t call my mom that either. So it has to be something else. 

So now I need to look it up. 

None of my books talk about it, so I need to turn to a different source.

I eased the door open, peeking in, no one there.

I snuck in and logged in, quickly pulling up google.

I looked up soulmate first, turning on the text to voice (there are some big words I don’t know).

**"A soulmate is someone that just gets you. It's a connection of minds, a mutual respect, an unconditional love and a total understanding. It's about being yourself and knowing, not only that person is following and understanding your thoughts, but is right there with you, side by side.”**

Wow, that sounds… nice… really nice.

I stared at the words, I can’t really read them yet, but I could follow along. I do know how to spell soulmate though. Soul and mate, sounding it out is easy.

I stared at the word, then had it replay the definition. 

I want that. 

Or well, I don’t have to want it. I have it, Percy is my soulmate.

I nodded, suddenly determined. Percy is my soulmate, he’s my person, this says he’ll be there for me. I’m going to be there for him too. 

I’m going to be the best soulmate for him, and we’ll never be alone, he’ll never say I’m lying, we’ll always have each other.

Now to find more information, I need to be the bestest soulmate ever!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Don't forget to review, it feeds our souls.
> 
> What did you think of Percy's thoughts? What about Annabeth's research? What do you think they'll do to stay in contact?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	6. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy view

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, Dragon here!
> 
> We have another chapter! A bit shorter, but coming up soon are longer chapters, so just hang on a bit.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Come yell at Dragon on tumblr: @Percabeth4Life  
> Come yell at Izzy on tumblr: @IzzyMRDB  
> Come chat with Dragon on discord: https://discord.gg/6Pf8JgJ  
> Come chat with Izzy on discord: https://discord.gg/8mGyafN

I hummed, swinging my legs as I drank my water and looked out and the city from the fire-escape.

I like this spot, it's relaxing, it lets me think.

Annabeth and I have switched a few more times over the last two weeks. I've learned a lot in that time.

Annabeth likes legos a lot, she's started leaving a few aside for me to play with so I can build things too. She liked reading, even if she's not the best at it yet (and the letters tend to move, it's hard to read). Her dad isn't mean, but he's… not like my mom. And her mom is sorta mean, she doesn't listen at all, she's also pregnant (though no one will really explain _what_ that means).

Her school is okay, the teacher is still yucky, but Susan and I get along good. She does notice when we switch, but doesn't know that it's us switching. I'm getting a bit better at mimicking Annabeth so they don't notice we're switching.

Mom got me a journal, and is trying to figure out how to get Annabeth one. When Annabeth is me she does drawings and some writing (neither of us are good at it yet, but I'm going to get better so I can talk with Annabeth) so that I know what happens. And I do too when I'm me, so Annabeth knows what's happened since she was gone.

She's good at drawing! I want to get better too. And it will help when she has drawing class. I need to be good at what she's good at, so people can't tell when I'm her. Mom said Annabeth is trying to get good at what I'm good at too, but I'm not good at much, not like her.

Mom said I'm good at swimming (we've only had like two lessons, that doesn't count mom!) and baking (all I do is mix things though) and telling stories (but anyone can do that) and that Annabeth is trying to get better at those.

I'm just glad I can get swim lessons, the pool gives them for free if I help clean up at the end of the day.

I took another sip of my water, I'm gonna have to find something I'm good at.

Maybe I could try a skateboard? Those tricks Nevari was doing down the street were really cool. Maybe he'd teach me a few?

I shook my head and brought the water bottle to my mouth again then blinked, my arm spasming as I realized I was somewhere else.

I'm Annabeth again.

I'm at… a doctors office? A big one?

I looked around, trying to figure out where I was. I'm in a waiting room I think, Annabeth's dad beside me. He seemed nervous, wringing his hands and looking towards the door every few seconds.

I noticed that I had a pad of paper and a pencil in my hand, half a sketch of a building on it. Just an outline and some color on one side.

I flipped through the notepad to see if there were any notes about what was going on and found a sketch of a woman and a baby with a little ' _babys born?'_ note on it. Plus a little heart and a P (for me!).

I shrugged, so I guess that her step-mom is going to be un-pregnant soon? I don't know how this works.

I scribbled a little heart and a ' _safe_ ' next to it.

I flipped back to the building drawing and started finishing it. Annabeth left a note for me before, saying that I could finish her drawings if they're in front of me when we switch.

So I colored it in carefully, sticking my tongue out as I tried to match her coloring just right.

I ended up finishing that drawing and moving onto designing a coral palace (coral is cool!) before a nurse showed up.

"You can go in now," the nurse said, smiling softly.

Dad slumped, letting out a breath. "Oh thank goodness."

He stood up and stretched. "Let's go Annabeth, it's time to meet your baby brothers."

I scribbled a quick doodle of two babies, and wrote ' _boys_ ' by them.

I stood up and saw my bedroom, with our notebook filled with pictures of the skyline and a little drawing of a table with fish and a leaf drawn on it and a ' _yum'_ beside it.

I'm back home, we must've switched again.

Looks like Annabeth had dinner while I was gone, and liked it.

I smiled at the notebook, I really like having Annabeth there.

It's like I always have a friend.

**OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO**

Time seemed to tick by far too slowly.

Dad would get up and pace up and down the corridor every few minutes, catching my eye as he wrung his hands together before sitting back down on the bench.

I turned back to the pad of paper and pencil in my hand, slowly sketching the straight lines of a brutalist building.

The switches between Percy and I have happened more often these past two weeks.

Percy’s mom is very nice and she tells me to call her mom too, so I guess she’s mom for the both of us now? Mom gave Percy a notebook so he can take notes about our switching, and I can write and draw notes in it too when we switch. I like to draw and write what’s happening throughout the day so when we do switch so we don’t miss anything, but I don’t have a notebook to put it in.

I’ve been to Percy’s school a few more times too. Jaiden and Percy were still friends and he doesn’t really notice when I’m being Percy, though he one time told me that I was acting weird when I said I didn’t want to play pirates because pirates hurt people. I’m getting better at acting like Percy now.

I’ve noticed that Percy likes to play with my legos when we switch, and he sometimes messes up my buildings, so I asked dad for another set and I leave that one out for Percy so he doesn’t mess up mine. He’s made a few boats and cars, but not that many buildings- and those are pretty wobbly and not architecturally sound (I learnt that word from a book!).

Percy likes to tell stories, and I’m not very good at that. I’m better at drawing than stories, and dad once said that “A picture tells a thousand words” so I never thought that I’d have to learn to _say_ a thousand words too. Mom is helping me learn, she wanted to be an author once and so she has a lot of practice at telling stories.

I’ve also had to learn how to swim. Well, swim better. Percy gets swimming lessons at his local pool but only if he helps clean up afterwards, and he’s a much better swimmer than me. I know how to swim, but not very well, I only learnt because my step-mom insisted that dad sign me up for lessons so I learnt for a few months. It’s easier to swim in Percy’s body too- he doesn’t have to breathe as much when he swims and he’s super fast in the water. I wish I was that fast in my body when I swim. I’ve asked dad to sign me up for lessons again, and I’m going to start them next week!

I reached for my coloring pencils.

Maybe I can teach the babies how to swim when they’re born too?

Dad stood up, going for another pace up and down the corridor. Another nurse walked into the room, a tray of towels on her hip.

I blinked and splashed water all over me.

Oh. Percy and I switched again.

I looked around, surprised to find myself on a fire-escape, high off the ground and with the view of the city around me.

I scrambled away from the edge, standing up to climb back in the window and mark down in Percy’s notebook that we’ve switched again.

“Percy!” I heard mom call from inside, “Dinner’s ready!”

“Coming!” I called back, stumbling back into Percy’s bedroom. “Mom, I switched!”

Mom likes it when I tell her that Percy and I have switched. She calls me ‘sweetheart’ and Percy is ‘baby’, so this is how she tells us apart.

I skittered into the dining room, a smile on my face. “The babies are going to be born!”

“Oh! That’s lovely sweetheart! We’re having fish and spinach for dinner, can you go wash up first?” She smiled warmly down at me.

“Yep!” I ran out of the room to go wash my hands.

Dinner was yummy, and I wrote it down in Percy’s notebook when I was finished. Gabe didn’t eat with us at the table, being more interested in the ESPN playing on TV, but that meant that I could tell mom all about what’s happened since I last saw her.

I switched back as soon as I finished writing ‘Yum’ in the notebook.

The paper on my lap had a little ‘boys’ written next to the drawing of the babies that Percy must have done.

“Annabeth?” Dad called, “We get to meet your little brothers now.”

I quickly stood up, “Coming!”

I love switching with Percy, it’s like having even more family!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to leave a review.
> 
> What do you think of his thoughts? What do you think of how they communicate? We're still a few chapters out of her running away but it's coming.

**Author's Note:**

> Discord Link: https://discord.gg/cNfXDbC


End file.
